Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Purchased by Vise Technologies Inc.

Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL - Free Report) by 39.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,921 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Ecolab were worth $1,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ECL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Ecolab by 134.8% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Navigoe LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ecolab in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ecolab during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.91% of the company's stock.

Ecolab Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of ECL stock traded up $4.32 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $265.42. 894,828 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,169,344. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $247.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.22. Ecolab Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.96 and a 52-week high of $273.69.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Ecolab's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Ecolab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on ECL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ecolab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ecolab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $263.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Ecolab and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Ecolab from $277.00 to $273.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Ecolab from $305.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.13.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director David Maclennan purchased 500 shares of Ecolab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $251.75 per share, with a total value of $125,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,900,313.75. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Larry L. Berger sold 10,858 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.95, for a total transaction of $2,898,543.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,202,860.80. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.